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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mate — to breed
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. tear — to rip
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mate — a friend
  15. pound — a weight
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mate — a partner
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. wake — a trail
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. tear — from crying

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com